How I Got Into Instrumental Music (Part Two)

I've moved into a new place, but don't yet have a quiet space to work on music. So I'm still on hiatus. In the meantime, I thought I'd take some time to document a bit more of my musical background.

I've always had a soft spot for a catchy tune, with or without lyrics. If you've had the opportunity to read a little of my history (label: biographical) you know I started out really liking instrumental groups like the Ventures and Johnny and the Hurricanes, as well as artistic masters like Chet Atkins. Another example of a catchy tune that really caught my ear was a tune called "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" by an group called The T-Bones. Alka-Seltzer used the tune as a jingle in its commercials of the mid-1960s, so it was all over the airwaves for a while.

The cool thing about this tune is that it's like a pop song without lyrics. Really, it's more like a pop song without verses. The tune is in an AABA form, repeated with a half-step modulation up the second time to build the excitement.The A section of the tune is more like a chorus than a verse, and the B section is an equally catchy bridge. In addition to the guitar carrying the melody, Tommy Reynolds' doubled organ and glockenspiel adds color throughout. The use of female voices for added texture makes a nice finishing touch.

In listening to this again, I was shocked to recognize a particular element of this tune in "Moment of Inspiration," a one-minute piece I wrote and uploaded to Pond5 last year. Note the descending line in the female chorus near the end.

The T-Bones eventually changed their name to Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds, and the world sped on. But this tune stuck in my brain and influenced my musical development from that point on.